Construction Season Begins

It is once again the time of year when construction activities resume.  Beginning February 27th, the East Ash Street Reconstruction Project administered by the Ohio Department of Transportion (ODOT) will officially get underway.  ODOT awarded a $2.044 million contract to Double Jay Construction Inc. of Englewwd, Ohio for the East Ash Street project that extends from Spring Street to the Greater Miami River Bridge.  This project will greatly improve the eastern gateway into downtown Piqua.  ODOT has established an official detour while access will be maintained to local residences and businesses.  The projected completion date is September 30, 2012, but could extend beyond this date depending on adverse weather conditions.  For more information on alternate traffic routes and accessibility, you can visit either the ODOT or City of Piqua web sites.

Another major project will begin in April with the construction of the City of Piqua Power Distribution Service Center.  The center will house the Power Distribution Department and operations.  The facility design, extension of utilities, site work, and roadway improvements were completed in 2011.  The project is estimated to cost between $4.0 - $4.5 million and should be completed in the Fall of 2012.

First Night Coming to Piqua?

Thanks to the creative vision and leadership of the Piqua Arts Council, First Night Piqua may become a reality this year.  First Night celebrations are held across the nation in downtowns on New Year’s Eve and are alternatives to typical New Year’s Eve activities.  First Night events are family oriented, alcohol free, celebrations of the arts provided for the community and can draw hundreds to thousands of visitors from the region.

Since First Night is a celebration of the arts, numerous entertainment venues are established utilizing government buildings, churches, YMCAs, YWCAs, banks, private businesses, and even outdoor areas.  Each hour a wide variety of performing and visual arts, including music, singing, dance, acting, puppeteering, etc., are scheduled at the different entertainment venues for children, adults, and families.  A First Night button gets you entrance to any of the venues.  The entertainment and other activities usually begin around 6:00pm and end at midnight with a grand illumination ranging from fireworks to candles and involving all attendees. 

The City of Piqua is a major supporting sponsor of this event and will be partnering with the Piqua Arts Council to help make First Night Piqua a great success for the community.  Other organizations and businesses will be invited and will have the opportunity to participate in some fashion.  One critical need of any First Night event is that it requires lots of citizen volunteers to supervise the venues, help with event planning, and supervise various facets of the event.  I would encourage you to contact either the Piqua Arts Council or my office if you are interested in participating, volunteering, being a sponsor, or just want to find out more information about First Night Piqua.

Many thanks to the Piqua Arts Council for bringing such a wonderful special event to Piqua.

More Good Economic Development News for Piqua

The Dayton Development Coalition has selected the City of Piqua to house the Entrepreneurial Signature Program (ESP) for the Northern Dayton Region including Miami, Auglaize, and Shelby counties.  The Entreprenuerial Signature Program’s guiding principles are to:

• Start-up and grow sustainable technolgoy companies for job creation;
• Address specific needs of companies with flexible development services;
• Coordinate entry and service deleivery of entrepreneurial development ecosystems;
• Build clusters of signature area technologies and develop supply chains;
• Mine for quality deal flow in the Dayton Region and recruit entrepreneurial talent; and
• Increase entrepreneurial developoment services to EDGE and minority owned companies.

The ESP Strategy is to focus on identifying and finding technolgies, forming companies, funding opportunities, and following companies through providing coaching to esure that profitability exits and ultimately bringing jobs and economic prosperity to the region.  The program will also focus on commercializing companies with technologies in the following order in terms of importance and anticipated deal flow volume:

• Aerospace propulsion and power (to include Unmanned Aerial Systems);
• Advance Materials and Advance Manufacturing;
• Situational Awareness and Surveillance Systems;
• Sensors and Automation;
• Medical Imaging Technologies; and
• Software for Business and Healthcare.

What does this mean for the City of Piqua?  It means that Piqua will have additional resources to help our existing businesses expand into new technologies and markets and enhance our ability to attract new companies and industries to our community providing jobs and community wealth.

Although this program ultimately depends on the Dayton Development Coalition receiving funding for ESP, it is a great new opportunity for Piqua businesses and citizens.

Economic Outlook for 2012 and Beyond is Good

One of the measures that can determine the economic vitality of a community is the amount of construction taking place.  In 2011, approximately $28 million of construction took place resulting in the best construction activity in the City of Piqua in a decade.  This is a very positive economic outlook indicator.

An even more positive indicator for us is the amount of construction currently underway and planned for the immediate future.  Based on several private and public construction projects that will begin this year and continue for the next couple of years, construction occuring within the City of Piqua will most likely exceed $100 million.  These projects range from private business expansions to new public facilities, such as the three (3) new schools to be built by the Piqua School District.  Other private business expansions currently underway and public construction projects including the new Power Public Service Center, water treatment improvements, and East Ash Street Reconstruction could total another $45 million.  And, I anticipate even more announcements of both private and public investments during 2012.

What does this mean?  It means jobs, economic vitality, improved delivery of services, and community income.    These are all great outcomes for businesses and citizens within the City of Piqua for 2012 and beyond.

New Citizen Communication Initiatives

We have initiated several new communication opportunities for the citizens of Piqua.  Here’s a quick summary of each.

Piqua Alert - This is an email notification and alert system designed to inform citizens of activities, events, meetings, programs, emergencies, and more within the City of Piqua.  Residents can sign up via the city’s web site for various topics that you wish to receive an email notification. 

Piqua Government Academy - The academy meets on a weekly basis for 2-3 hours beginning in April for a period of 11 weeks.  Participants learn about the interworkings of Piqua city government, tour the various departments, see first-hand facilities and equipment, and experience a mock Commission Meeting.  Two sessions (Spring and Fall) will be held each year.  You can sign up for the academy on the city’s web site.

Commission Work Sessions - The City Commission is now holding informal work sessions on a monthly basis (2nd Thursday) at 7:30pm in Commission Chambers.  The work sessions are designed for the Commission to review with staff upcoming and/or long range topics.  The meetings are open to the public.

National Citizen Survey - The City of Piqua is currently participating in the National Citizen survey conducted by the National Research Center.  The survey is utilized by hundreds of municipalities across the nation to determine residents’ ratings of services provided by local governments.  In Piqua, 1200 residences have been randomly selected by the National Research Center for participation.  Results should be available in late March.

Hopefully, these new initiatives will provide beneficial information to our residents and inspire citizen involvement and engagement in Piqua City Government.

National Citizen Survey

For the first time, the City of Piqua is participating in the National Citizen Survey.  The survey is made available to local governments by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the National Research Center and utilized by hundreds of municipal governments to determine citizen satisfaction with services provided and their community.

The National Research Center randomly selected 1200 residences in Piqua for the survey to ensure a statistically valid rating of the various services, facilities, and events primarily offered by the city, but also organizations such as the Piqua Library and School District.  If you have been selected and received notification, please take time to complete the survey.  The results will also enable us to compare our ratings with other communities throughout the United States.

The final results should be available at the end of March and will be shared with the community.

Welcome to the Piqua City Manager Blog!

Communication is an important factor in creating successful organizations and communities.  As part of the effort to help keep the community informed of happenings on the part of the Piqua City Government, I have created this blog to share with you information about your city government operations, projects, accomplishments, initiatives, meetings, events, and more.

Hopefully, you will find the blog articles beneficial and informative.  I invite you to check out the blog each week for new and exciting information.

Thanks for reading my blog.